Ah, the innocent words of a not-so-innocent 5 year old who just knocked over my cup of tea.

Ruby Black is indeed a nice-smelling tea. It smells like tea. I really do like the way it smells. When I opened the package, as usual, I held it to my nose and sniffed. Very nice. It’s a nice toasty scent. The tea’s color… beautiful! Like a reddish-black. Love it! I appreciate the aesthetics of tea, the whole experience.

I followed the instructions and used the Breville at 200 degrees for two minutes.

The scent when brewed changed, but it’s still very nice. It has developed into a more vegetal scent, but still with that hint at toastiness.

Now, for the taste. It’s definitely a black tea and I’m not (in general) a black tea lover. I don’t add milk or sweetener to tea. It’s bold, but an understated, not so in-your-face bold. It’s like an underlying strength. It tastes very vegetal. So much so that I almost feel like it could be something on my plate. (That’s not a plus in my book.) Still, it’s a mysterious taste with a hint at spiciness, but not really. Just a tiny touch. It’s almost a thick taste, without the feeling of weight. There is a maltiness to it.

Overall, it’s nice. I do like it, but it hasn’t converted me to black tea. (I’ll keep trying them all, though!)

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I’m a middle school teacher of French, Spanish, ESL and reading intervention. I’m also a mom to two young children.

I’ve always been a tea lover. When I lived in France during college, I really loved the tisanes. Over the past couple of years, I’ve branched off into loose teas. I’m not very knowledgeable about teas, but I’m really loving the learning process!